The Cadbury Creme Egg Conundrum

Nothing says spring is right around the corner than seeing those ooey gooey chocolatey Cadbury Creme Eggs on store shelves. For some of us, the chocolate eggs are the most important ingredient for any Easter basket. But many British fans of the Cadbury Egg are now seeing red after hearing that the recipe for the chocolate shell has been tweaked by the American company Kraft that bought out Cadbury in 2010.

It doesn’t help that Brits and Americans have never seen eye to eye on their taste for chocolate confections. British and American chocolates are different because of the guidelines set in place for confection makers. BBC reports that, “In the UK, chocolate must contain at least 20% cocoa solids. In the US, on the other hand, cocoa solids need only make up 10%.” To Brits, a Hershey chocolate bar is said to have a far less creamy texture and is a lot grittier than the bars they are used to.

Director of the Academy of Culinary Arts, Sarah Jayne Stanes, is quoted in a 2009 BBC report about American companies vying to buy out Cadbury. She explains how the UK has a “long and distinguished history with chocolate” and that Brits have become very loyal to their chocolate making ways, feeling “threatened by an American takeover”.

Fast forward a few years and it seems their worst nightmare has come true as reports are confirmed that British Cadbury owned by Kraft has indeed switched out the company’s standard Dairy Milk for a “standard cocoa mix chocolate”. A Kraft spokesperson is quoted in the Independent explaining the change, “It's no longer Dairy Milk. It's similar, but not exactly Dairy Milk.” The spokesperson adds, “We tested the new one with consumers. It was found to be the best one for the Creme Egg, which is why we've used it this year. The Creme Egg has never been called the Cadbury's Dairy Milk Creme Egg. We have never played on the fact that Dairy Milk chocolate was used.”

It should be noted that the change of recipe will not affect American Creme Eggs which are already not made with Dairy Milk (and apparently we like it that way). Here in the states Hershey owns the Cadbury company so we won’t be seeing the same recipe changes Kraft is making overseas.

What do you think about the UK’s reaction to the recipe change in Cadbury Creme Eggs?

Have you tasted chocolate overseas? Which do you prefer?